PrimerFinance · 9 min read
Founding the Fund: How Operators Become General Partners
Managing partners and emerging fund managers on raising capital, building a thesis, and the entrepreneurial path from analyst to GP.
Starting a fund is one of the most entrepreneurial moves in finance — and one of the least taught. The managing partners we interviewed all built their firms the same way: a sharp thesis, a track record they could point to, and a first close anchored by relationships they'd cultivated for years.
We walk through the realistic timeline from analyst seat to first close: the operating experience that earns LP trust, the SPV deals that build a track record, and the legal and economic structure of a Fund I.